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Cold War/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby The screen is split diagonally into two sections. The top left section has an American flag, a blue square with alternating red and white stripes. The bottom right section has a Soviet flag, a five-pointed yellow star above a crossed yellow hammer and sickle on a red background. Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby. The scene changes to a man, Tim, looking over the shoulder of a robot, Moby. Moby has his arms crossed across his chest, his eyes are narrowed, and the dotted line of his mouth is curved down in a frown. TIM: Moby? Still not talking to me, huh? Moby shakes his head. TIM: Well, I guess I’ll just have to do this movie all by myself. Tim holds up a typed letter that almost fills the screen. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, What was the Cold War? Did it happen during winter? From, Squid. Tim and Moby address the camera. TIM: First off, the Cold War had nothing to do with temperature. And it wasn’t exactly a war, either. It was a 40-year standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Oh, so we're talking now? MOBY: Beep. TIM: The Soviet Union was the country that included Russia, the Ukraine, and a bunch of other countries, too. The scene changes to a map of Eastern Europe and northern Asia. The landmasses are colored green and the oceans and seas are colored blue. Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan are colored red. Black lines represent borders between these countries. Text reads: Soviet Union. TIM: The United States and the Soviet Union were allies in World War Two. Tim addresses the camera. TIM: But after the war, the US and other western nations thought that the Soviets, led by the dictator Joseph Stalin, would try to spread communism all over the world. The scene changes to a map of Europe, Asia, Africa, and part of Oceania. The area covered by the Soviet Union is colored red while the other landmasses are colored green and the oceans and seas are blue. The Soviet symbol of the hammer and sickle shows in the eastern part of the Soviet Union. Red slowly starts to spread outward in all directions from the Soviet Union, turning the green landmasses red, until all of the landmasses are red. MOBY: Beep? Tim and Moby address the camera. TIM: Well, communism is an economic system where all wealth is distributed evenly to everybody. Text reads: communism. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it sounds good in theory, but it gives a lot of power to the government. So communist countries, like the Soviet Union and China, tend to become dictatorships. The Soviet Union didn’t do much to help its image. Tim addresses the camera. TIM: In 1948, it limited access to the city of Berlin, Germany, and didn’t let anyone in or out! The scene changes to a map of northwestern Europe. The landmasses are colored green and the oceans and seas are colored blue, and black lines represent borders between countries. A large area in the center of the map is labeled “Germany” and is colored light yellow. A red dot labeled “Berlin” appears in the northeast corner of Germany. TIM: Eventually, Germany was split in two. East Germany became a communist state, while West Germany was a democracy. A dotted line is drawn through Germany from the northern border to the southeastern border. TIM: The city of Berlin was also divided. The Soviets built the Berlin Wall to keep people from coming into or leaving communist East Berlin. The wall became a symbol of Soviet oppression and the Cold War in general. The top section of a cinderblock wall rises up from the bottom of the screen. The section of Germany to the right of the dotted line, including Berlin, changes color from light yellow to dark red. TIM: Winston Churchill, the British prime minister, said that due to Soviet oppression, an Iron Curtain had descended across Europe, and the name caught on. The scene changes to a map of Europe in which the landmasses are green and the oceans and seas are blue. A large silver curtain slowly lowers into the screen and covers the right half of the map. The Soviet hammer and sickle symbol is on the curtain. Text reads: Iron Curtain. TIM: President Harry S. Truman began the US policy of containment to stop the spread of communism. Containment included three different approaches. The scene changes to Harry Truman in front of an American flag. Text reads: containment. TIM: First, the Marshall Plan gave 13 billion dollars to help Europe rebuild after World War Two. The scene changes to a map of North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. The United States and Europe are colored light yellow while the rest of the landmasses are green. A large arrow moves across the screen to point from the United States to Europe. Text reads: Marshall Plan. TIM: The idea was that European countries who accepted US aid would be unlikely to ally themselves with the Soviet Union. Second, the US followed with the Truman Doctrine. It was a promise to supply military and economic aid to any country struggling to create or maintain a democracy. Tim and Moby address the camera. Text reads: Truman Doctrine. TIM: Third, the US established NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Tim addresses the camera. TIM: It was a military alliance between the US, Canada, and various Western European countries. The scene changes back to the map of North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. The United States, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Norway are colored light yellow. Text reads: UpperWord NATO. TIM: But in all fairness, the Soviet Union had good reason to distrust the West. Tim addresses the camera. TIM: For one thing, the US had invented and used the extremely destructive atom bomb at the end of World War II. The scene changes to an explosion in a barren landscape. A gray mushroom cloud develops and grows from the explosion. Text reads: atom bomb. TIM: The Soviets feared America would use this new weapon to control the rest of the world. Tim and Moby address the camera. MOBY: Beep? TIM: You’re right. A few years after World War Two, the Soviets developed their own nuclear weapons. It wasn’t long before an arms race started. The Soviets had to build more and more nuclear weapons to counter the US, and vice versa. The scene changes to a split screen with the American flag on the left and the Soviet flag on the right. A long, cylindrical bomb appears on the left side of the screen, and then a similar bomb appears on the right side of the screen. Bombs alternate appearing on each side until both sides are filled with bombs. TIM: People all over the world lived in fear of an all-out nuclear war between the two super powers. Tim addresses the camera. TIM: It’s kinda weird, but nuclear weapons may have actually prevented a US-Soviet war. Both sides knew that a full-scale nuclear war would have no winner. Tim and Moby address the camera MOBY: Beep. TIM: Right, the only winning move was not to play. The scene changes to show the Earth in outer space. Africa and Europe appear in the center of the globe. The Soviet flag sticks out from one side of the Earth, and the American flag sticks out of the opposite side. TIM: That’s why it was called a Cold War, because it never really erupted into a real war between the US and the Soviets. Tim addresses the camera. TIM: But in 1950, America fought a war in Korea to contain communism. The scene changes to a map with a section colored light yellow and labeled “Korea.” The surrounding landmasses are colored green and the seas are blue. TIM: The US was worried about the influence of communist China, led by Mao Zedong. The camera pulls back to show a partial map of eastern Asia. A large portion of the map is colored red and labeled “China.” Korea is colored light yellow, and the surrounding landmasses are colored green. A portrait of Mao Zedong appears in an orange circle in the top left of the screen. Text reads: Mao Zedong. TIM: In fact, many other wars between 1950 and 1990, such as the Vietnam conflict, were really part of the Cold War. Tim and Moby address the camera. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yep, that’s true: the Cold War was partially responsible for getting humans into space. The US and Soviet Union both spent billions of dollars on rockets and satellites. Each side wanted to win the space race. You can find out more about that in our Apollo Project movie! The scene changes to a split screen. On the left, a rocket prepares to launch. On the right, a satellite in outer space flies around a section of the Earth. Text reads: space race. TIM: Anyway, in the 1980s, the Cold War began to end. The Soviet economy wasn’t strong enough to hold the USSR together. Tim addresses the camera. TIM: In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, and soon, communist governments in Eastern Europe were being overturned. The scene changes to a large wall covered with graffiti standing in front of some buildings. A section of the wall is missing, and stone rubble covers the foreground. TIM: Finally, in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and broke up into distinct democratic countries. That’s why people say the US won the Cold War. But really, everybody won when it ended. It cost a lot of human lives while it was going on. Tim and Moby address the camera. MOBY: Beep. Moby hands Tim a card. TIM: What’s this? An “I’m Sorry” card? MOBY: Beep. TIM: Aw, shucks. I’m sorry, too. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts